Personal

Reviewing Games as an Independent Content Creator

Jett6 Comments

I’m in the midst of writing my review for Mortal Kombat 11. Taking a moment to reflect on what I’d written thus far, it was over 1,000 words long, with the vast majority of it being focused on a handful of new gameplay adjustments that I find really cool. Whether I keep it all or not, being my own boss here at In Third Person gives me the wiggle room to approach my evaluation of the game in any way I so choose.

Having that freedom is really important to me with regards to the work I do here. While reviews are a staple of the video game content mix, I also find them to be a chore. Especially when you’re writing them with the goal of covering every aspect of what a game has to offer so that your readers can make an informed purchasing decision. It’s an unnatural way to consume and write about games that can really wear someone down over time. If it’s a game you don’t like, the strain to complete the game and review is amplified further.

Continue reading →

10 Years of In Third Person: My Comic Book Phase

JettLeave a comment

I was late to the comic book party. Though characters like Batman, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Ninja Turtles have played an integral role in my life throughout my existence, I experienced them primarily through other forms of media, such as TV, film, and video games. For most of my life, this was enough.

Around the time Steff started reading comic books, I joined her as well. Between two omnibuses and a copy of All New X-Men Vol. 1, I began my quest to catch up on decades of stories I missed while keeping up with the current threads. Much of my journey was documented on In Third Person, right down to the moment where I bailed out from the scene.

Continue reading →

Games That Expanded My Horizons

Jett13 Comments

With money and time as an finite resource, it’s very easy to stay in a comfort zone with the video games you play. But sometimes, you get rewarded for escaping your imaginary box. Despite my previous negative response to art games like Journey and The Unfinished Swan, trying out Gris on the strength of a recommendation from Kris and Rachel from Double Jump proved to be a worthwhile endeavour.

Here are a few more games that I’ve played that expanded my horizons in ways I wasn’t expecting.

Continue reading →

Street Fighter Week | My Story as a Competitive Street Fighter Player

JettLeave a comment

Street Fighter Week continues! Though this story was sort of told in real time over the years, here’s a consolidated story of my rise (and fall) in the world of competitive Street Fighter!

There was a time when I thought the world of competitive Street Fighter didn’t extend beyond the bounds of local arcades. For a long time, I fancied myself as being savvy in Street Fighter II, as I could perform any of the game’s special moves on command and I could beat my friends. I didn’t think there was anything more to learn.

Boy, was I wrong.

Continue reading →

Yoshi’s Crafted World and Completing Everything a Game Has to Offer

Jett2 Comments

In less than a week, I completed the main story found within Yoshi’s Crafted World. Immediately after, I made plans to loan my copy to my brother. Until I get the chance to give it to him, I’ve been running through all of the flip side levels while trying to collect enough flower to unlock the post-game content. This is a bit unusual for me, as I’m generally not the type of gamer that cares all that much for experiencing every last bit of content a game has to offer.

Continue reading →

The Harsh Reality of Twitch as a Career Path

Jett2 Comments

I did not enter the world of streaming in 2017 with visions of being the next Ninja. Already doing Let’s Play videos for my YouTube channel, I figured that if I was going to spend the time adding commentary to my videos in real time anyway, I might as well stream it. Could potentially hit two birds with one stone that way.

As I’ve built up my presence on Twitch, it’s been fascinating to follow the culture around streamers attempting to “make it big”, whatever that means to them. This includes thousands of resources on how to make game streaming your career, Reddit threads on users asking for advice on how to generate more money from their stream, a deluge of stories from streamers ready to call it quits after falling short of their expectations, and countless #roadtoaffiliate tweets. Heck, even I have sent a #roadtoaffiliate tweet or two.

Having hit Twitch Affiliate somewhat recently, it’s gotten me thinking about the possibility of making this a full-time gig. Others have made it happen, but is it something I could achieve if I really wanted to?

Continue reading →

10 Years of In Third Person: The Universal Fighting Game Guide

JettLeave a comment

Improving at fighting games is one of the steepest mountains to climb in all of video games. You have to contend with complex special move inputs, combos, complex gameplay systems, difficulty that changes based on who you fight against, an online player base that will take turns stomping you into the ground, and no one to blame but yourself each time you lose. Furthermore, the path to improvement usually requires help from outside resources, such as guides, video tutorials, or coaching, as even the most robust in-game teaching tools won’t prepare you for everything you’ll face in the real world.

Though I put a ton of time and effort into training, I credit Street Fighter III: Third Strike legend and one of the FGC’s pioneers in content Gootecks for helping me grow as a player. Dating all the way back to his audio-only podcast from ages ago, his tips and advice really set me down the right path. Without his indirect guidance, I don’t think I ever would have gotten to the place where I am today.

When I got to a point where I felt like I had knowledge of my own to pass down, I started the Universal Fighting Game Guide. I wanted to pay it forward like Gootecks did for me. Feeling like there wasn’t enough information out there for beginner-to-intermediate level players, I wanted to write the kind of guides I was looking for to answer very specific questions I had. On top of that, I wanted to write guides that worked for a wide swath of fighting games, as so much knowledge is transferrable from game-to-game.

I was hoping that a handful of people would find my work useful. What I didn’t expect was the massive and ongoing success it has achieved.

Continue reading →

The Downside of Growing as a Streamer?

Jett3 Comments

During a recent Paper Mario stream, I received a really interesting comment in the chat from a recent follower.

This may seem mean, I hope you get to be a really big streamer, but I also hope you stay small so you can interact with us like this

I have never been on a stream like this with streamer interacting like this

First off, thank you Pokemaster457 for the high praise and support! Secondly, I totally understand what you mean when you say you want me to stay small.

Continue reading →

My Post-Modern Approach to Following Professional Wrestling

JettLeave a comment

My interest in professional wrestling comes in phases. In the early 90s, when I was an impressionable youngster who thought wrestling was real, I idolized the likes of Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, and Bret Hart. I cried when Shawn Michaels kicked Marty Jannetty through the glass, officially ending The Rockers as a tag team. After a few year hiatus, I jumped back on board thanks to the one-two punch of fantastic AKI-made Nintendo 64 games and some of the best stories and action during the Monday Night Wars. I was even in attendance for Wrestlemania X8, where I screamed my lungs out as Hulk Hogan faced The Rock in one of the most legendary bouts of all time.

After ECW folded into the WWE in the 2000s, I took a long hiatus. Oddly, it was my wife who pulled me back in a few years ago, as she went through a phase where she was deeply invested in the Total Divas reality TV show. When the opportunity arose for us to see her favourite wrestlers perform at a local event, I’ve been “sort of” following the scene again ever since.

Continue reading →

Paper Mario and Petty Grudges

JettLeave a comment

Almost 20 years after its original release, I finally played Paper Mario for the first time. Regarded by many as a classic, it slipped through the cracks for me due to the pettiest of reasons.

It wasn’t Super Mario RPG 2.

Continue reading →